Beatrice (The Tipton Hollow 2)

“What are we going to do now?” She asked Ben when Mark and Isaac had gone to speak to several constables who were scouring the garden for clues, and they were alone in the kitchen.

“We need to think carefully about what we do from now on, Beatrice. This is no game. This is a real murder investigation,” he warned on a sigh as he moved to stand beside her.

She tore her gaze away from the men outside and looked up at him. “I don’t know how to thank you for all of this,” she murmured quietly. “You have done so much for me, and haven’t uttered a word in protest.”

“I really don’t mind,” he assured her.

Her snort of disbelief was loud. “I have dragged you into a murder investigation.”

Ben looked down into her eyes and was immediately ensnared by her feminine beauty. “I don’t want to be anywhere else, Beatrice,” he whispered and slid an arm around her waist to draw her against him.

“I need to check on Maud,” Beatrice whispered, but made no attempt to move.

“How are you coping with all of this, Beatrice?” Ben murmured, and tipped her head up until she looked at him. “A lot has happened in such a very space of time.”

“I know,” she sighed, although wasn’t entirely sure if he was talking about the strange events surrounding the plant, or their relationship. “To think that only the day before yesterday I thought life was boring.”

Ben chuckled and shook his head. “Be careful what you wish for.”

“I know,” she sighed. In all of her life she had never thought that having someone like Ben in her life was possible, yet here he was; everything she had ever wished for in one tall, dark and handsome package.

Before she could say anything else, his head started to lower toward hers. While she knew that it would be foolhardy to allow anything to happen between them on such a short acquaintance, curiosity kept her perfectly still.

The soft brush of his lips against hers was barely more than a whisper. She felt his warm breath against her cheek as his lips swept tenderly against hers. The tender gesture was soon repeated, the second time more firmly, before his lips finally settled completely over hers.

He hesitated for a moment and assessed her for any sign of reluctance or objection. To his relief, he saw nothing in her slightly dazed blue eyes other than acceptance and raw need. The passion that was etched on her face tested his powers of control to the point that he knew resistance was futile. His mouth settled over hers more fully when passion became too much for either of them to resist and he drew her tighter against him while his lips plundered.

How long they savoured each other, Beatrice had no idea. Her head swam with the delightful sensations he brought forth within her. It was all she could do to cling to his shirt and allow him to plunder.

The sudden knock on the door was loud, and so unexpected that they both jumped apart guiltily. Ben smothered a curse as he leaned away from the temptation of her curves. However, he couldn’t turn away, or remove his hands from her waist and sever all contact completely, and remained where he was while he tried to gather his scattered wits about him.

“I am not going to apologise for that, Beatrice,” he declared harshly. He was prevented from saying anything more when the knocking sounded again.

He threw her an apologetic look and yanked open the door to find Mark on the doorstep. It was only then that he realised he had been kissing Beatrice right in front of the window where any of the constables outside could have seen them. His eyes met and held Mark’s for a moment, and knew that the Detective Inspector had witnessed their embrace. However, professional to the core, Mark made no mention of it as he stepped into the kitchen.

“The body has gone now. One of the men has found boot prints outside of the study window like you said, and they look like a match for the boots on the corpse.”

“So he was most probably looking through the window to make sure we received the plant,” she gasped, and suddenly felt very sorry for him.

To do something as innocuous as deliver a plant, and die for it, was something she couldn’t quite come to terms with. It seemed such a nonsensical waste of a life that she suddenly felt a wave of anger and disgust toward Hargraves for his bullying antics.

“Are you alright?” Ben asked as he read the flash of something undefined in her eyes. Although she nodded, he wasn’t convinced and held an arm out to her.

She moved closer to him and didn’t object when he slid a comforting arm around her waist. However, it did little to ease her burning anger toward her persistent visitor who seemed reluctant to take ‘no’ for an answer.

“It looks like it,” Mark agreed. “Right now, we just don’t know what it is about that plant that makes is so sought after.”

“We will continue to look through the books in Matthew’s study to see if we can identify it. However, we may need to contact one of the scholars at the university to get the words on the notes transcribed.” Ben lifted his brows at Mark hopefully. “Unless you know Latin?”

Mark shook his head. “Look, I will arrange for one of my men to take the diagrams to one of the scholars. He can wait while it is transcribed and can send you a copy of the transcription once he has it. You can then check if it is as rare as we think it is. When Isaac and I get back from London, we can take a look at what we have found and decide if it is worth killing for.”

Beatrice opened her mouth to object but really couldn’t come up with any argument. To do so could be construed as interfering with a police investigation. She wished now that she had taken the time to copy the notes because she really didn’t want to just hand them over. To her surprise, Ben seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“I will go and find them. Be back in a minute,” Ben announced and hurried out of the room. Once in the sitting room however, he grabbed the packaging paper and quickly sketched out a copy of the notes onto it, along with the names and addresses of the botanists. He then tucked the packaging paper out of sight, folded up the rest of the papers, and took them to Mark.

Mark turned toward the door for the second time that afternoon. “Meantime, if you do identify the plant, just leave word at the station. The sergeant who is looking after the case while I am away will pick it up.”

Beatrice nodded and watched him step outside.